Insurance contract support system

ABSTRACT

This invention seeks to provide an insurance contract support system, which enables an insurance agent or solicitor to invite a customer to take out an insurance policy and negotiate an insurance contract at any time and any place, using a device making no requirement for maintenance on the agent or solicitor.  
     To attain the object as described above, the insurance contract support system of the invention comprises a management device  2  to which each of terminal devices  3  are connected through a network  4.  The management device  2  stores insurance-related information relevant to insurance sales and acquires terminal discriminating information of the specified or unspecified terminal device  3  being accessed thereto, so as to allow any of the terminal devices accessed to the management device to make effective use of the insurance-related information, consequently to assist the routine clerical work for operating insurance contract.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a system associated with procedures involvedin an insurance contract.

BACKGROUND ART

Insurance sales for getting an insurance contract have been hithertoconducted while providing a face-to-face explanation of a salesrepresentative of an insurance company (insurance solicitor) to acustomer. However, the insurance sales have been increasing through thespread of the Internet in recent years. Electronic commerce has theadvantage that a customer can use freely at any time without feelingtrouble with talking to an insurance solicitor and can ensure abeneficial result for the insurance concern to reduce the cost requiredfor preparing various document papers such as a contract documentbecause the necessary items for insuring can be filled in an insuranceapplication form on a screen display. On the other hand, the benefit offace-to-face selling is that a customer can be made fully aware ofarticles of commerce or sufficiently take the advice of the insurancesolicitor. Furthermore, the face-to-face sales for damage insurance havebeen often made through insurance agents or brokers hired by more thanone insurance administration company, getting the convenience ofoffering discriminative services tailored to each insurance company.Even though the electronic commerce has been increasing with theInternet under most of these circumstances, face-to-face selling forcontract of insurance has been still used at a high ratio.

The insurance agent or solicitor often invited a customer to take out aninsurance policy while showing catalogues or brochures for insurancegoods to the customer. When getting the insurance contract, theinsurance agent prepared the necessary application forms for thecontract of insurance so as to let the customer fill in the applicationforms. In a case of handling car insurance, the insurance agent orsolicitor had to carry an explanatory booklet for calculating aninsurance premium on the basis of an appraisal value of a subjectvehicle for the purpose of canvassing the customers' homes forapplications of insurance. The explanatory booklet for insurancecontract is too heavy and bulky to carry around. In order to reduce theburden of the insurance solicitor, there have been developed a systemfor storing the contents of the explanatory booklet for insurance andthe necessary application forms in a memory of a portable computer.

As one example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No.2000-148844A1 discloses a system using a combination of a portableterminal device storing a dedicated program exclusively for theinsurance agent and a printer to eliminate the use of brochures andbooklet for explaining insurance policy as noted above and applicationforms. The portable terminal device in the aforementioned conventionalsystem is a laptop personal computer previously storing the necessarydata such as an insurant premium tariff and a schedule of appraisalvalues of vehicles in various situations in the form of tables, andcalculating programs for deciding insurant premiums and appraisal valuesof vehicles in accordance with various conditions on the basis of inputdata. The insurance agent or solicitor goes on a visit to a customerwith the portable terminal device in his/her hand, so that the necessaryinsurance application forms can be prepared there with the aid of thepreviously stored data and programs while inputting personal informationdata and vehicle information data into the terminal device.

However, the insurant premium tariff is liable to vary with insurancerates and revision of insurance goods, which are often redefined atregular periods, and a standard price list of vehicles, which isfrequently changed with new-car sales. Hence, the data stored in theportable terminal device described in Japanese Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2000-148844 must be reinstalled whenever the insurantpremium tariff or other information is changed, requiring the insuranceagent of a huge amount of clerical work for maintaining the data storedin the terminal device and updating the data.

Furthermore, the conventional system requires the insurance agent orsolicitor to carry the brochures or catalogues showing the insurancegoods and insurance application forms all the times. Namely, when theinsurance agent or solicitor meets the customer without the essentialarticles for insurance sales, the agent or solicitor might miss anopportunity of capture a new insurance contract.

In the light of the problems in the conventional system, the presentinvention seeks to provide an insurance contract support system, whichenables an insurance agent or solicitor to invite a customer to take outan insurance policy and negotiate an insurance contract at any time andany place, using a device making no requirement for maintenance on theagent or solicitor.

DISCLOSURE OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

To attain the object as described above according to the presentinvention, there is provided an insurance contract support system asnoted below.

The insurance contract support system according to the present inventioncomprises a management device and a terminal device connected through anetwork, which management device includes an insurance-relatedinformation database, a terminal discriminating information acquisitionmeans for gaining information for discriminating the type of theterminal device connected to the management device and specified orunspecified by the management device, and an application assist meansfor issuing insurance-related information for making the managementdevice available to the terminal device of any type in accordance withterminal discriminating information obtained by the terminaldiscriminating information acquisition means.

According to the system, the management device becomes accessible fromthe terminal device of any type on the basis of the terminaldiscriminating information given from the management device to allow theterminal device to use the insurance-related information, so that evenan unspecified terminal device can be used for conducting insuranceservices. The management device has the insurance-related informationdatabase for giving required insurance-related information to theterminal device connected to the management device. Updating and/orchange of the insurance-related information can be collectivelyimplemented on the management device, thus to eliminate the need fordoing maintenance on each terminal device, which is needed for theconventional terminal device. The application assist means has anotherfunction of assisting the routine clerical work of making up an estimatefor insurance expense and making inquiries about insurance information.

Further, the management device in the system of the invention isprovided with an information compensation means for compensatinginformation to be given to the terminal device on the basis of theterminal discriminating information from the terminal discriminatinginformation acquisition means, so as to transmit the application formfrom the application assist means to the terminal device through theinformation compensation means.

With the information compensation means, the information given to theterminal device is corrected on the basis of the terminal discriminatinginformation for the terminal device. The information given to theterminal device includes not only the insurance-related information butalso an instruction form to ask for entering information data into theterminal device. That is, one set of information data suffices for themanagement device because the information data submitted from themanagement device are compensated with the information compensationmeans in accordance with the terminal device being connected to themanagement device. Namely, a number of sets of information data forvarious types of terminal devices are not needed to be stored in themanagement device, so that only one set of information data may beupdated when the necessity arises, consequently to lighten the burdenimposed on the management device.

The management device in the system according to the invention may beprovided with a terminal discriminating database storing theaforementioned terminal discriminating information in correlation withdisplaying ability of description language of the terminal device, sothat the terminal discriminating information to be sent to the terminaldevice is compensated being collated with the data stored in theterminal discriminating database on the basis of the indicative abilitysought in the terminal discriminating database.

With the terminal discriminating database previously storing theterminal discriminating information for specified or unspecifiedterminal devices accessible to the management device in correlation withthe indicative ability of description language, the information data tobe submitted to the terminal device on the basis of the terminaldiscriminating information acquired when connecting any terminal deviceto the management device can be compensated properly.

Further, the management device in the system of the invention may beprovided with a contract conclusion means for concluding an insurancecontract applied from the terminal device.

With the contract conclusion means, the applied insurance contract canbe effected on the terminal device.

The management device in the system of the invention may be furtherprovided with a connection information acquisition means for acquiringconnection information indicative of connecting conditions between themanagement device and the terminal device, and an authentication meansfor authenticating the terminal device being accessed to the managementdevice on the basis of the connection information to determine anauthentication level.

In the system including the connection information acquisition means andauthentication means, reliability and security of the connection betweenthe management device and the terminal device can be recognized bydetermining the authentication level on the terminal device beingaccessed to the management device on the basis of the connectioninformation. This is intended to avoid the risk posed by the managementdevice capable of being accessed by the unspecified or specifiedterminal device, which possibly causes leakage of the insurance-relatedinformation given from the management device to the terminal device andis cheated according to the circumstances of connection between themanagement device and the terminal device.

The application assist means of the management device in the systemaccording to the invention has a functional sphere variable with theauthentication level determined by the authentication means.

The extent of providing the information by the management device to theterminal device by the aid of the application assist means is can belimited according to the authentication level. Consequently, thesecurity level of the system can be changed with the authenticationlevel.

The connection information obtained by the connection informationacquisition means may contain agent authentication information fordistinguishing whether a user using a terminal device being accessed tothe management device is authenticated or not

With the connection information containing the agent authenticationinformation, the authentication level can be determined according to theagent authentication information indicative of which insurance agent(insurance salesperson) accesses the management device.

Alternatively, the connection information obtained by the connectioninformation acquisition means may contain terminal authenticationinformation for distinguishing whether a terminal device being accessedto the management device is authenticated or not

With the connection information containing the terminal authenticationinformation, the authentication level can be determined according to theagent authentication information indicative of which terminal deviceaccesses the management device.

Alternatively, the connection information obtained by the connectioninformation acquisition means may contain location authenticationinformation for distinguishing whether a location from where a terminaldevice is accessed to the management device is authenticated or not.

With the connection information containing the location authenticationinformation, the authentication level can be determined according to theagent authentication information indicative of the location from wherethe terminal device accesses the management device.

The application assist means in the insurance contract support system ofthe invention may assist browsing of the insurance-related informationwith the terminal device having the agent authentication informationacquired by the connection information acquisition means.

With this system, the insurance-related information cannot be browsed ifthe agent authentication information is not acquired by the connectioninformation acquisition means in the management device.

The application assist means in the insurance contract support system ofthe invention may assist browsing of the insurance-related informationwith the terminal device having both the agent authenticationinformation and the terminal authentication information acquired by theconnection information acquisition means.

With this system, the insurance-related information cannot be browsed ifboth the agent authentication information and the terminalauthentication information are not acquired by the connectioninformation acquisition means in the management device.

The insurance-related information database in the insurance contractsupport system of the invention may contain a plurality of pieces ofinsurance-related information in accordance with the types of theavailable terminal devices so as to submit a corresponding one of piecesof insurance-related information to the terminal device based on theterminal discriminating information through the application assistmeans.

With this system using the plurality of pieces of insurance-relatedinformation predetermined according to specified and unspecifiedterminal devices, any terminal device can be used for the routineclerical work for operating insurance contract.

In the insurance contract support system of the invention, the terminaldevice may be provided with a dedicated adapter connection means forpermitting a dedicated adapter to automatically connect the terminaldevice to the management device for transmitting the terminalauthentication information assigned by an insurance company to theterminal device regardless of whether the terminal device is specifiedor unspecified. The management device in this system also includes theinsurance-related information database storing the insurance-relatedinformation associated with insurance contract services of the insurancecompany and the application assist means for transmitting theinsurance-related information available to the terminal device inaccordance with the terminal authentication information issued from theterminal device and assisting the routine clerical work for operatinginsurance contract.

With this system, the terminal device can be automatically connected tothe management device merely by plugging the dedicated adapter carriedin the hand of the insurance salesperson or the like into the terminaldevice without effecting any specific operation, so that the terminalauthentication information can be automatically transmitted to theterminal device even unspecified. Thus, the management device issues theinsurance-related information in accordance with the given terminalauthentication information to assist the routine clerical work foroperating insurance contract.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment (1) of an insurancecontract support system.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram showing the embodiment (1) of aninsurance contract support system.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram showing the embodiment (1) of aninsurance contract support system.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the operation of a first working example 1.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the operation of the first working example 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen-displayed example on a terminal device ofthe insurance contract support system.

FIG. 7 illustrates a screen-displayed example on a terminal device ofthe insurance contract support system.

FIG. 8 illustrates a screen-displayed example on the terminal device ofthe insurance contract support system.

FIG. 9 illustrates a screen-displayed example on the terminal device ofthe insurance contract support system.

FIG. 10 illustrates a screen-displayed example on the terminal device ofthe insurance contract support system.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of the operation of a second working example 2.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen-displayed example on the terminal device ofthe insurance contract support system.

FIG. 13 illustrates a screen-displayed example on the terminal device ofthe insurance contract support system.

FIG. 14 illustrates a screen-displayed example on the terminal device ofthe insurance contract support system.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of the operation of a third working example 3.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the insurance contract support system according to thepresent invention will be described hereinafter with reference to theaccompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a firstembodiment (1) of an insurance contract support system, and FIGS. 2 and3 are detailed block diagrams showing the first embodiment (1) of theinsurance contract support system. FIGS. 2 and 3 continue to each otherat the point “*1” in the drawings.

The insurance contract support system 1 in the embodiment (1) of theinvention comprises a management device 2 to which each of terminaldevices 3 are connected through a network 4.

An aspect in which the system of the invention is applied to services ofauto insurance, which is one of damage insurances, will be describedherein by way of example, but this invention may be applied to any otherlife and nonlife insurance service business including fire insurance andaccident insurance.

The management device 2 essentially has an input and output function,recording function, communication function, calculation function and soon. It may be formed of a mainframe computer, work-station computer orpersonal computer operable in collaboration with other computers as ageneral manner. Alternatively, the management device 2 may of course becomposed from a combination of a plurality of servers and terminaldevices or devices, and connected to external database systems accordingto need. The management device 2 is installed in an insurance companyand connected to a host computer of the insurance company.

The terminal device 3 essentially has an input and output function,recording function, communication function, display function and so on.It is provided with a button means, touch panel, key board and/or mousefor fulfilling the input and output function. For the display function(display screen), there may be used LCD, CRT or the like. The terminaldevice may be a personal computer, handheld mobile terminal (personaldigital assistant; PDA), cell phone, fixed-line phone, householdappliance (television, refrigerator, etc.), car navigation system, gameconsole and so forth. The terminal device 3 is used at the option of auser, sales representative of an insurance agent, that is, there may beused a terminal device installed in an insurance shop, a privatepersonal computer owned by the sales representative of the insuranceagent or the customer, or a terminal device equipped at an Internet cafeor a hotel.

The network 4 includes a communication system for Internet or othercommunication means.

Next, the formation of the management device 2 will be explained here.The management device 2 comprises an authentication section 21 fordetermining an authentication level based on the connection informationof the terminal device 3 being accessed to the management device 2, ancompensating section 23 for correcting the connection information of theterminal device 3 accessed to the management device 2, an applicationsection 25 for applying for insurance policy, a contract section 27 forsigning insurance contract, and an accounting section 29 for accountingthe signed insurance contract.

First, the compensating section 23 will be explained. The compensatingsection 23 includes an information compensation means 231 forcompensating information assigned to the terminal devices 3 inaccordance with the displaying ability of each of the terminal devices.The compensating sections 23 are illustrated diversely in FIGS. 2 and 3for convenience of explanation, but these are equivalent to each other.When the information is transmitted from the management device 2 to theterminal device 3, it is necessarily compensated by the informationcompensation means 231.

The compensating section 23 includes a terminal discriminating database232 storing terminal discriminating information for discriminating thetype of the terminal device 3 in correlation with displaying ability ofdescription language of the terminal device 3, and a terminaldiscriminating information acquisition means 233 which acquires terminaldiscriminating information of the terminal device 3 being accessedthereto. The information compensation means 231 verifies the acquiredterminal discriminating information with the terminal discriminatingdatabase 232 to compensate and transmit the terminal discriminatinginformation in accordance with the displaying ability of the terminaldevice 3.

Since the terminal device 3 may choose to be identified or not beidentified in this system of the invention, it may be of any personalcomputer, portable terminal or personal digital assistant (PDA), cellphone, land phone, digital consumer electronics, car navigationequipment, game machine or the like. Thus, the terminal devices aredifferent in displaying ability (description language, function of abrowser, display screen size, etc.) For example, there are variousdescription languages such as Compact-HTML, HDML, MML and WML for cellphones, and various manners for displaying information data on thecellphone's screen, which are different in line number, characternumber, and color. Thus, various data on displaying ability for avariety of terminal devices are previously memorized on the terminaldiscriminating database 232 in correlation with the terminaldiscriminating information. Consequently, only one set of information(contents) suffices for various terminal devices to display the giveninformation on the displays of the respective terminal devices becauseit is compensated for each of the terminal devices with the compensatingsection 23, unlike the conventional system of this kind necessitating aplurality of sets of information (contents) for various terminaldevices.

The terminal discriminating information is for discriminating the typeof the terminal device 3 and is automatically acquired by the managementdevice 2 when the terminal device 3 is connected to the managementdevice 2. In case of accessing to the management device 2 by using acell phone, the acquisition of the terminal discriminating informationenables discrimination of the type of a cell phone connected to themanagement device through a cellphone provider (carrier). In case ofaccessing to the management device by using a portable terminal such asa personal digital assistant (PDA) or personal computer, the type andversion of browser installed in the portable terminal can bediscriminated. Of course, a next-generation IPv6 may be used fordiscriminating the kind of home information appliances.

Next, the authentication section 21 will be explained. Theauthentication section 21 includes a connection information acquisitionmeans 211 for obtaining the connection information indicative of theconditions under which the terminal device 3 is connected to themanagement device 2, an authentication means 212 for authenticating ofthe terminal device on the basis of the connection information todetermine an authentication level, and various database units forcollation of the connection information on the authentication means 212.The database units may be disposed outside the management device 2.

The connection information acquired by the connection informationacquisition means 211 contains terminal authentication information forauthenticating the terminal device and agent authentication informationfor authenticating an insurance agent appointed by an insurance company.If location authentication information for authenticating a location atwhich the terminal device can be referred to, the authentication levelcan be more increased. Namely, the connection information enables themanagement device 2 to recognize the place from which the terminaldevice 3 accesses to the management device 2. Since any type of terminalsystem or personal digital assistance can be used as the terminal device2, highly confidential information may possibly be accessed even by anunauthorized user in a case that the insurance company providesinformation from the management device 2 to the terminal device 3. Thatis, there are cases where the sales representative of the insuranceagent loses his/her portable terminal device, the terminal device isshared by the sales representative of the insurance agent and anineligible insurance producer, and a computer of an Internet cafe or acustomer is carelessly forgotten to be switched off after use,consequently to leave insurance contract data or insurance-related data,as typical examples. The information for insurance contract containsimportant data such as the personal information of the customer orinsurant must be held in strict confidence so as not to be misused.Accordingly, the system of the invention can improve the security ofpersonal information by recognizing the status of the connection betweenthe management device 2 and the terminal device 3 and transmitting tothe terminal device 3 the necessary information on the basis of theconnection status.

The connection information acquisition means 211 in the embodiment (1)of the invention includes a terminal authentication informationacquisition means 2111 for obtaining the terminal authenticationinformation, and an agent authentication support means 2112 fortransmitting an agent authentication information entry form for urgingthe agent to enter the agent authentication information previouslyappointed by the insurance company, an agent authentication informationacquisition means 2113 for obtaining agent authentication informationfilled in the agent authentication information entry form, and alocation authentication information acquisition means 2114 for obtainingthe location authentication information.

The terminal authentication information obtained by the terminalauthentication information acquisition means 2111 indicates whichterminal device 3 is accessed to the management device 2 and isautomatically transmitted to the management device 2 when the terminaldevice 3 is connected to the management device 2. Even if the managementdevice does not acquire the terminal authentication information from theterminal device 2, the terminal device 3 may be accessed to themanagement device 2, but the authentication level as described later isinfluenced. The prescribed terminal device 3 implies a terminal stationplaced at an insurance agent office or shop, a user terminal setpossessed by a sales representative (insurance salesperson) of theinsurance agent, or the like.

In a case of using a desktop computer or portable computer such aspersonal digital assistance (PDA) as the terminal device 3, the terminalauthentication information is installed in advance on the terminaldevice 3, so as to automatically submit the terminal authenticationinformation from the terminal device 3 to the management device at thetime of connecting the terminal device to the management device(referred to as “client authentication”), temporarily generate one-timepassword that changes with every use in accordance with system time orcounter value in the terminal device or management device to enhance thesecurity (one-time password authentication), or collate user'sautographic information such as a signature with individual datapreviously stored on the management device (signature authentication, orsometimes referred to as biometric authentication). The one-timepassword authentication enables coinstantaneous terminal and agentauthentication. In a case of using a cell phone as the terminal device3, the authentication can be conducted by plugging a dedicated adapterinto the user's cell phone or giving a one-time password to the user. Byinserting the dedicated adapter into the cell phone, automaticconnection of the cell phone to the management device 2 can befulfilled, simultaneously submitting the authentication data stored onthe dedicated adapter to the management device. In this case, when thesales representative of the insurance agent brings his/her cell phonewith its dedicated adapter, his/her authentication information can beautomatically submitted to the management device by inserting theadapter into the cell phone. The adapter should be possessed by a personauthorized by the insurance company, and as a general rule, it isrequired to provide one adapter for every one insurance agency, but whenthe insurance agency has a plurality of salespersons (employees), theinsurance company may supply as many adapters as the number ofemployees. The terminal authentication information containinginformation of the insurance agency (agent's name, kind of agency,contact information, etc.) is stored on the database in correlation withauthentication manner (for client authentication, one-time passwordauthentication or signature authentication and model type of adapter).

The agent authentication support means 2112 transmits an instructionform to ask for entering the agent authentication information to theterminal device 3 being accessed to the management device 2 through thecompensating section 23. The agent authentication information ispersonal data such as ID code and password, which is indicative of whois connected to the management device 2. As a general rule, one piece ofagent authentication information is provided for every one insuranceagency, but when the insurance agency has a plurality of salespersons(employees), the insurance company may give the insurance agency aplurality of authentication information. Realistically speaking, thereare many associated concerns (channels) acting as insurance agenciessuch as a specialized insurance agency, car maintenance shop,second-hand car dealership, new-car sales dealership, and autodistributor, so the agent authentication information may contains datacapable of discriminating the associated concerns. The agentauthentication information is previously stored on the agentauthentication information database 214 in correlation with the agencyinformation (agent's name, kind of agency, contact information, etc.)assigned to the insurance agent in advance. The meaning of the insuranceagent implies insurance salespersons (insurance solicitors) employed forperson-to-person selling by the insurance agency.

The location authentication information acquired by the locationauthentication information acquisition means 2114 is indicative of wherethe terminal device 3 is accessed to the management device 2. Thelocation authentication information may be created from an IP address orother specific data, but is not initially allocated as a verificationcode by the insurance company. Thus, the location authenticationinformation is produced by identifying whether the specific terminaldevice 3 is accessed to the management device 2 through a registerednetwork from the IP address or other specific data. The informationindicative of the usage of the network and IP address is stored on thelocation authentication information database 215 in correlation with theagency information (agents name, kind of agency, contact information,etc.) That is, when acquiring the location authentication informationstored on the location authentication information database 215, it isdeemed that the terminal device 3 is accessed from a high-security placeto the management device 2. As the high-security place, there areenumerated premises of an insurance sales agency and insurance company,and network environment offered by the insurance company. On thecontrary, an Internet cafe, business satellite office in a hotel,customer's home, and home of the insurance salesperson of the insuranceagency may be said as low-security places. When using the portablecomputer, personal digital assistant (PDA) and cell phone as theterminal device 3, the authentication cannot be executed with referenceto the location authentication information, but fulfilled referring tothe agent authentication information and terminal authenticationinformation.

The authentication means 212 includes a collation means 2121 forcollating the connection information, and a level determination means2122 for determining an authentication level according to whether theconnection information can be obtained or not and/or the terminal devicecan be identified or not. When the terminal authentication information,agent authentication information and location authentication informationare obtained, the collation means 2121 performs confirmation whetherthese information data coincide with the corresponding data storedpreviously on the terminal authentication information database 213,agent authentication information database 214 and locationauthentication information database 215.

The level determination means 2122 performs determination of theauthentication level according to what combination of the connectioninformation data (terminal authentication information, agentauthentication information and location authentication information)recognized by the collation means 2121 is authenticated. The leveldetermination is shown in Table 1 below by way of example. TABLE 1Availability of information Terminal ◯ X Authentication InformationAgent ◯ X ◯ X Authentication Information Location ◯ X ◯ X ◯ X ◯ XAuthentication Information Authentication 1 1 or 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 Level

In the Table 1, the case where all the acquired terminal authenticationinformation, agent authentication information and locationauthentication information coincide with the authentication data storedon the database is expressed as ◯, and the case where all the acquiredauthentication information do not coincide with the same is expressed asx. The authentication level is classified into four levels, Level 1 toLevel 4, according to the combination of terminal authenticationinformation, agent authentication information and locationauthentication information. As seen from Table 1, the case in which allthe terminal authentication information, agent authenticationinformation and location authentication information are determined as ◯falls into the highest level, Level 1. The case in which the agentauthentication information is determined as ◯ and one or both of theterminal authentication information and location authenticationinformation are determined as X falls into Level 2. In this case, thereis an exception that the case where an unverified portable personaldigital assistance (PDA) or cell phone is used as the terminal device 3,but the agent authentication information and terminal authenticationinformation are authenticated falls into Level 1. The case where theagent authentication information and terminal authentication informationare determined as x falls into the lowest level, Level 4. The othercases than those mentioned above fall into Level 3.

The classification of the levels shown in Table 1 is shown by way ofexample only, and it should not be limited thereto. The locationauthentication information is classified into two in this example, butit may be further classified into subclasses. The agent authenticationinformation is also subclassified in accordance with the nature(channel) of the insurance agency. The connection information in thisembodiment comprehends the terminal authentication information, agentauthentication information and location authentication information, butit should not be limited to these component factors. For example, inthis system, the location authentication information may be omitted, andinstead, the authentication may be prosecuted by combining the terminalauthentication information and agent authentication information, orusing only the agent authentication information, or adding any otherauthentication information to the agent authentication information.

Next, the application section 25 will be explained. The applicationsection 25 includes a service information means 251 for notifyingavailable services offered from the management device 2 by the insurancecompany to the terminal device 3, an application assist means 252 forissuing insurance-related information for issuing insurance-relatedinformation for making the management device available to the terminaldevice of any type in accordance with terminal discriminatinginformation and assisting the routine clerical work of making aninsurance policy application form with reference with the informationsent from the terminal device 3, an insurance-related informationdatabase 253 storing insurance contract business information as theinsurance-related information, and application form drawing means 254for making an insurance application form on the basis of the informationsent from the terminal device 3. The insurance-related informationdatabase 253 is composed of a plurality of database units and may bedisposed outside the management device 2.

The service information means 251 serves to transmit information ofservices, which the management device 2 can offer to the terminal device3, so as to display the information on the display of the terminaldevice 3 in the form of a menu 2511. On the menu 2511, the availableservices offered from the insurance company to the insurance agent areitemized with adequate item names, respectively. For instance, theservices offered by the insurance company include an insurance contractservice for forging an insurance contract, a sales assistance servicefor assisting the insurance sales, an information inquiry service forasking for various insurance-related information, an accident-relatedinformation service, and other services. Further, the insurance contractservice is mainly for renewable car insurance contract, new carinsurance contract, insurance contract accounting, and acceptance ofchange. The sales assistance service is mainly for premium estimation,and premium settlement (including credit-card authorization). Theinformation inquiry service is mainly for inquiring for availableinsurance contract, insurance policy, record of concluded insurancecontract and pending insurance contract, contents of insurance policy,rules and regulations of insurance policy, insurance covenant, and otherinformation. The accident-related information service is mainly forprogress report of disposition of car accident, acceptance ofdisposition of car accident, and handling of insurance claims. Theaforementioned services are just examples among many and should belimited thereto. These services are notified to the terminal device 2 inthe form of the menu 2511. The menu 2511 may be formed in a hierarchicaltree-structure on the display of the terminal device.

Determination which ones of the services offered by the insurancecompany are available to the customer or the insurance agent depends onthe authentication level decided by the authentication section 212 inaccordance with the terminal device 3 accessible to the managementdevice. The routine clerical work performed by the management device 2for assisting the operation of the terminal device 3 is indicated asdistinction of services available to the terminal device 3. Theapplication assist means 252 assists the operation of browsing theinsurance-related information on the display of the terminal device uponacquirement of at least the agent authentication information from theterminal device, and the operation of handling the insurance contractupon acquirement of at least the agent authentication information andterminal authentication information. The services offered by theinsurance company and the authentication levels necessary for enjoyingthe available services are shown in Table 2 below by way of example.TABLE 2 Required Authentication Services Level Insurance ContractRenewable car insurance contract 1 New car insurance contract 1Acceptance of change 1 Insurance contract accounting 1 Insurance SalesPremium trial-calculation 2 or more Premium payment and settlement 1Information Inquiry Insurance information inquiry 1 Record of concludedand pending 1 insurance contracts Contents of insurance policy, and 2 ormore rules and regulations of insurance policy Announcement of insurance2 or more company Phone directory 2 or more Accident-related Progressreport of disposition of 1 Information car accident Acceptance ofdisposition of car 1 accident Handling of insurance claims 1

In the case of the authentication Level 1 based on Table 1, whichindicates that the authenticated user (insurance agent) uses theauthenticated terminal device 3 at a high-security level place, all theservices are available to the user. In the case of the authenticationLevel 3 or Level 4 based on Table 1, which indicates that the terminaldevice is not used by an authenticated user (insurance agent) and thusthe management device cannot acquire the agent authenticationinformation, none of services can be offered. In the case of theauthentication Level 2 based on Table 1, which indicates that theauthenticated user (insurance agent) uses an unauthenticated terminaldevice, the service information offered by the insurance company to theterminal device is in the treat of being used fraudulently. In thiscase, only the information inquiry service other than theinsurance-related services and the sales assistance service forassisting the insurance sales is available to the user. That is, thehighly confidential information concerned with insurance contractoperation or individual insurance policy (inquiries of insurance policyand accident-related information) is not available.

Incidentally, the authentication level in Table 2 is set at Level 3 orLevel 4, but services (brief information of insurance goods oradvertising contents) available correspondingly to the authenticationlevels may be provided. To prescribe the agent authenticationinformation so as to identify the status of a person responsible of theinsurance agent (individual authority) and kind (channel) of theinsurance agent, the information to be disclosed may be restricted inaccordance with the nature of the agency identification data acquired bythe management device when take advantage of various informationservices inquired by the user. That is, in a case where the agencyidentification data are categorized in accordance with, for example, thesalesperson individual and sales representative of the insurance agency,and representative for selling insurance of a car dealer, the scope ofcustomers' data to be disclosed at the request of the insurance agencymay be expanded to subjective data of salesperson individual andconcerned insurance sales branch and ultimately up to the company-widedata of the insurance company. On the menu showing the services offeredto the terminal device 2 by the insurance company, all the services maybe displayed in a selectable manner to choose further menu optionsaccording to the authentication level, or only the services available tothe user or customer according to the authenticated level may bedisplayed.

The application assist means 252 serves to transmit to the terminaldevice 3 an instruction form to ask for entering the necessaryinsurance-related information in accordance with the service selected onthe terminal device 3 in order for assisting various routine clericalworks for proceeding with the insurance contract as indicated on themenu 2511. The information displayed on the terminal device 3 inconnection with the available services may include insurance-relatedinformation, which is allowed merely to be browsed, and fill-in forms tobe filled out following the instructions displayed on the terminaldevice. Ordinarily, one of new contract procedure and renewal contractprocedure must be alternatively chosen in performing insurance contractservices, which are different in arranging procedure, and a commonprocedure in estimating premium and effecting insurance contract,consequently to temporarily suspend a clerical work for arranginginsurance contract. To cope with such a clerical work, the applicationassist means 252 is provided with a plurality of matching means capableof preparing a plurality of required forms to be transmitted to theterminal device 3 so as to fitly choose combination and/or operatingorder of the matching means in accordance with interaction betweenthemselves and the terminal device 3.

The means associated with the new insurance contract service, which isincorporated in the application assist means 252, include a vehicleinformation assist means for producing a vehicle information entry formto assist entering of vehicle information data (vehicle type, carregistry number, vehicle name, type number, initial registration date,etc.), an insurant information assist means for producing an insurantinformation entry form to assist entering of insurant information data(name, phonetic name, postal zip code, domicile, phone number, e-mailaddress, etc.), a recommended insurance advice means for transmittinginformation of insurance contract recommended to the customer orinsurant selected according to the vehicle information, and atrial-calculation representation means for representing atrial-calculation result 23241 of insurance premium estimated accordingto the contract desired by the customer or insurant. The meansassociated with the renewal insurance contract include an expirationinformation transmission means for notifying contract expirationinformation of the contracted insurance (expiration list or the like) ofthe insurant (customer already insured) to which the salesrepresentative of the insurance agent already accessed to the managementdevice 2 provides support, an expiration notice transmission means fortransmitting notice of insurance expiration information, which wasalready mailed to the insurant prior to the expiration date of aninsurance policy, and an insurant information transmission means fordisplaying insurant information (name, phonetic name, postal zip code,domicile, phone number, e-mail address, etc.) The application assistmeans further comprises other means for providing variety of otherservice information.

The insurance related information database 253 further comprises meansfor assisting the operation of the application assist means 252, whichinclude an insurance policy database 2531 storing an insurance policy incorrelation with the vehicle information, a premium trial-calculationdatabase 2532 for tentatively calculating the insurance premium inaccordance with the insurance contract, an expiration informationdatabase 2533 storing expiration information such as the insurance agenthaving charge of the insurant whose insurance policy is expiring,expiration date, recommended insurance plan and other information, andan insurant database 2534 storing the insurance information of theinsurant (name, phonetic name, postal zip code, domicile, phone number,e-mail address, etc.)

The application form drafting means 254 is provided for making up anapplication form 2541 upon receiving the vehicle information inputted onand submitted from the terminal device 3 by using the application assistmeans 252, and the application data including the insurant informationand the insurance policy selectively or optionally concluded, and otherinformation data.

The application assist means 252 and the insurance related informationdatabase 253 should not be limited to the foregoing and may be modifiedor compensated in number according to the procedures of preparing theapplication form and the services prescribed by the management device 2.As the need arises, image data of a driver's license and/or a vehicleinspection certificate or electronic data of license information storedin an IC memory may be submitted from the terminal device 3 to themanagement device 2.

The variety of information entry forms to be transmitted from theapplication assist means 252 to the terminal device 3 may be provided inthe form of a frequently used menu automatically customized on the basisof a history of usage, or in an easy manner of possibly saving thecharacter inputting operation so as to select the necessary items from ahierarchical menu while omitting unwanted input items, under theassumption of using a cell phone as the terminal device 3 by way ofexample. Thus, the system of the invention can take into accountutilization of the services offered by the insurance company using thecell phone having many restrictions.

Next, the contract section 27 will be explained. The contract section 25is provided with an application form transmission means 271 fortransmitting the application form 2541 drawn up on the basis of theapplication information to the terminal device 3, a contract conclusionmeans 272 for completing the insurance contract upon receivingconfirming information indicative of confirmation of the applicationform from the terminal device 3, a payment means 273 for arranging forinsurance payment, and a contract completion notification means 274 fornotifying completion of the insurance contract to the terminal device 3.

The application form transmission means 271 serves to transmit theapplication form 2541 drawn up by the application form drafting means254 to the terminal device 3 to display the form on the terminal device.The complete data required for the insurance contract, which are thesame as those filled in a conventional application form are displayed onthe display screen of the terminal device.

The contract conclusion means 272 is provided with a confirmation assistmeans 2721 for transmitting to the terminal device 3 a confirminginformation entry form 2721 for assisting the filling-in of theconfirming information data, and a confirming information detectionmeans 2722 for detecting whether or not the confirming information issubmitted from the terminal device 3. The confirming information isdedicated for determining that the contents of the application form 2541is confirmed by the insurant by use of the management device 2,correspondingly to a written contract under seal. Since the salesrepresentative should give an explanation of the important details(insurance coverage, nonresponsibility clause, insurance policy termsfor insurants age, and duty of notification of change of insurancepolicy and possible accidents) of the insurance policy in confirming theapplication data, the confirming information semantically implies thatthe insurant has been made aware of the insurance policy. The importantdetails explained to the insurant contains obligation of representationand notification, insurance coverage, roles of the insurance agent,general contractual conditions and so forth. The confirming informationshould preferably be an insurant's own or specific information such asdate of the insurant's birth, which the sales representative of theinsurance agent does not know, in order to prevent impropriety. It isdesirable for the insurant to block views of others including the salesrepresentative of the insurance agent when entering the confirminginformation. There are other confirming methods using the number of thehealth insurance card or public number of the insurant, if any, orindividual identification means, which will possibly be established bythe government in future.

The payment means 273 is provided for carrying out the procedure forinsurance payment upon submitting a form for applying payment ofinsurance benefit and filling in the necessary information on theterminal device 3. The payment means 273 allows the insurant to select amethod of insurance payment (cash payment, credit card, direct debit andnet debit transactions, convenience banking payment, cellphone'spayment, etc.), and assists the filling-in of the data necessary forpayment of the insurance benefit. The insurance payment informationcontains the credit card number, expiration date of the credit card andother personal information in the case of the credit card or net debittransactions, the account number, account holder's name and otherpersonal information in the case of the account transfer payment, andinformation such as the name of the appointed convenience banking ande-mail address to which a store reception number is sent in theconvenience banking payment. For the cellphone's payment, credit carddata saved in an IC chip in the cellphone of the customer are used. Inthe case of using the credit card settlement, authorization (acceptanceof credit card transactions) can be conducted via communication line.

The contract completion notification means 274 serves to transmit to theterminal device 3 a contract completion notice upon completion of thepayment procedure in the payment means 273 after detecting theconfirming information by the confirming information detection means2722 and then display the contract completion notice on the terminaldevice. Thus, the sales representative of the insurance agent and thecustomer or insurant can recognize the conclusion of the insurancecontract. The customer or insurant comes in very useful when receivingnotification of the conclusion of insurance contract, which is sent tocustomers mail address (E-mail address of a cell phone, personalcomputer or the like of the customer or insurant). In a case of makingarrangements for insurance contract by using an unauthorized terminaldevice, the notification of the conclusion of insurance contract shouldbe sent to the ascertained terminal device of the insurance agency byE-mail, consequently to allow the insurance agency to appropriatelyconfirm the conclusion of insurance contract.

Next, the accounting section 29 will be described. The accountingsection 29 is provided with an accounting assist means 291 fortransmitting to the terminal device 3 an accounting instruction form2911 for giving accounting instructions to record accounting of theconcluded insurance contract, an insurance accounting means 292 foraccounting the concluded insurance contract to the insurance company inaccordance with the accounting instruction information received from theterminal device 3, a completed accounting notification means 293 fortransmitting to the terminal device 3 a completed accounting notice 2931of the completed accounting of the insurance contract, and confirmationdrawing means 294 for making up a concluded contract confirmation to begiven to the customer.

The accounting instruction information is entered into the terminaldevice 3 referring to the accounting instruction form 2911 given fromthe accounting assist means 291. The accounting instruction informationis provided for reporting the contents of the concluded insurancecontract to the insurance company and conclusively confirming the agentsdecision accounting for the concluded insurance contract. Only byselecting the item “booking” 2912 on the display of the terminal device3, the agents decision can be submitted.

The contents of the concluded insurance policy fulfilled in the contractsection 27 is recorded by using the insurance accounting means 292 inaccordance with the accounting instructions sent from the terminaldevice 3. The booking of the concluded insurance contract is registeredin database on the insurance policy in the host computer of theinsurance company. This online data processing method is alternative toa conventional procedure using a system for sending the necessarydocuments by postal mail or facsimile and reading the data on thedocuments using an OCR device. The insurance accounting means 292 servesto enter into the host computer 5 the contents on the application form2541 drawn up in the interactional sequences described above using themanagement device 2 without modification. Although the concludedinsurance policy is booked with direction by the terminal device 3 inthis embodiment (1), it may be booked without direction by the terminaldevice 3 at the time of concluding the insurance contract.

The completed accounting notification is displayed on the display of theterminal device 3 by the completed accounting notification means 293 tomake the booking of the concluded insurance contract known to the salesrepresentative of the insurance agent.

With the confirmation drawing means 294, a written contract confirmationto be sent to the insured customer or insurant by postal mail is madeup. The contract documents are sent from the insurance company directlyto the insurant by postal mail along with the insurance policy, so thateven unauthorized or fraudulent contract can be learnt and signed offfrom the reaction or feedback from the customer. Although the writtencontract confirmation is sent to the customer in this embodiment bypostal mail, it may be sent to the customer's e-mail address by e-mail.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing, the terminal device 3 is anoptional element basically having functions of receiving the informationfrom the management device 2, displaying the information to permit theuser to enter required data referring to various instruction forms, andsubmitting the entered information to the management device 2.

In a case of using a cell phone as the terminal device 3, a dedicatedadapter connection means 31 may be used with an detachable dedicatedadapter, which is inserted into the terminal device, so that theterminal device intended to access to the management device 2, ifspecified or unspecified, as to automatically connect the terminaldevice 3 to the management device. There are previously stored theterminal authentication information and URL information of themanagement device 2 in the dedicated adapter, so that the terminaldevice 3 can be automatically accessed to the management device 2 onlyby inserting the detachable dedicated adapter into the terminal device3. The cell phone to which the dedicated adapter possessed by the salesrepresentative of the insurance agent is attached can be identified asthe authenticated terminal device 3 by the management device 2 of theinsurance company when plugging the dedicated adapter into the cellphone in conducting the insurance contract. When putting this system topractical use with the dedicated adapter, the cell phone owned by thecustomer or insurant may be used, but it is desirable to use the cellphone possessed by the salesperson or sales representative of theinsurance agent because of the security reasons.

Irrespective of the structure in the aforementioned embodiment (1),there may be omitted the information compensation means 231 of thecompensating section 23 and terminal discriminating database 232, so asto previously hold the information to be primitively transmitted fromthe management device 2 to the terminal device 3 according to the typeof the terminal device 3, so that the information corresponding to therespective terminal device 3 accessible to the management device inaccordance with prescribed terminal discriminating information. Forinstance, the application section 25 may be provided with a plurality ofinsurance-related information for various types of the terminal devices3 accessible to the management device.

The insurance contract support system 1 in the embodiment (1) will beclarified hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 4 through 15. FIGS. 4 and5 are flow charts showing the operating of the first working example 1.FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the operating of the second workingexample 2. FIG. 11 continues onto FIG. 5. FIG. 15 is a flow chartshowing the operating of the second working example 3. FIGS. 6 to 10 andFIGS. 12 to 14 are the screen-displayed examples on the display of theterminal device.

WORKING EXAMPLE 1

There will be described herein the first working example 1 in which thesystem in this working example 1 is applied for placing new insurancecontract while the management device 2 receives both the terminalauthentication information and the agent authentication information.This example may be applied to the other procedures than that for newinsurance contract.

First, the sales representative of the insurance agent handles aspecified or unspecified terminal device 3 to be connected to themanagement device 2 via the network 4 in conducting the insurancecontract. Since the new insurance contract requires the highestauthentication level “Level 1”, the sales representative of theinsurance agent accesses a Web site administered by the managementdevice 2 via the Internet by using the terminal device installed in theinsurance agency office or shop.

Since the personal computer set up as the terminal device 3 in theinsurance agency office or business shop is connected to the managementdevice 2, the terminal authentication information for clientauthentication is transmitted to the terminal authentication informationacquisition means 2111 of the management device 2 at the time ofconnection (S101). The terminal discriminating information, whichindicates that the terminal device 3 being accessed to the managementdevice is the personal computer, is transmitted to the terminaldiscriminating information acquisition means 233, as the case may dependon the kind and version of a browser installed on the computer, and atthe same time, the location authentication information identified withan IP address is transmitted to the location authentication informationacquisition means 233 (S102). The terminal discriminating informationtransmitted to the management device 2 is collated with data stored onthe terminal discriminating database 232 to determine how theinformation is compensated by the information compensation means 231when transmitted to the terminal device 2 (S103). The information to betransmitted from the management device 2 to the terminal device 2 afterthis time is always compensated with the information compensation means231. This compensation of the information to be transmitted to theterminal device 3 is necessarily made according to the personal computerserving as the terminal device.

Subsequently, the agent authentication information entry form istransmitted from the agent authentication support means 2112 of themanagement device 2 to the corresponding terminal device 3 (S104). Onthe terminal device 3 which receives the agent authenticationinformation entry form, an instruction image for letting the salesrepresentative enter a given ID code and password. The salesrepresentative of the insurance agent or insurance solicitor enters theID code and password previously given to the insurance agent into theterminal device, so that the ID code and password entered by the salesrepresentative are submitted to the management device 2 (S105) andinputted into the agent authentication information acquisition means2113 (S106). Regardless of whether the terminal authenticationinformation is submitted, the agent authentication information entryform is transmitted from the agent authentication support means 2112 tothe relevant terminal device 3. However, since the contract service isperformed at the highest authentication level, it is required to makethe terminal device 3 responsive to the prescribed authentication levelso as to get the sales representative to submit not only the prescribedterminal authentication information but also the agent authenticationinformation to the management device. Since the personal computer isused as the terminal device 3 in this embodiment, the terminal device 3should be used in such surroundings that the location authenticationinformation with a high-security level can be transmitted to themanagement device. Subsequently, to authenticate the user of theterminal device 3 with the authentication means 212, the terminalauthentication information and the agent authentication information areverified with the terminal authentication information database 213 andagent authentication information database 214 by using the collationmeans 2121 (S107). Then, the authentication level of the terminal device3 attempting to be connected to the management device is determined inaccordance with a combination of the terminal authentication informationand agent authentication information (S108). The authentication level inthis situation is the highest Level 1 since both the terminalauthentication information and agent authentication information arereceived.

Next, the services contributing to the terminal device 3 is notified inthe form of a menu to the terminal device through the serviceinformation means 251 in accordance with the result of determination ofthe authentication level obtained by the level determination means 2122(S109). Since the authentication level in this case is determined as thehighest level, all the available services are displayed on the displayof the terminal device 3, so that the customer can select whicheverservice the customer wants. The example of the representation of thedisplayed menu 2511 is shown in FIG. 6. The menu 2511 contains the majoritems “Contract Services” 2512, “Sales Assist” 2513, “Enquiry” 2514, and“Accident” 2515, and the minor items “Auto Insurance (renewal)” 25121,“Auto Insurance (new)” 25122, “Trial Calculation” 25131, “Settlement”25132, “Phone Directory” 25141, and “Contract Enquiry” 25142. Some ofservices shown in Table 2 are displayed as the available services. As anexample, the item “Auto Insurance (new)” 25122 is selected to pursue newinsurance contract and notified to the management device 2 (S110).

The application data entry form for one selected from various insuranceservices is given to the terminal device 3 by using the applicationassist means 252 in the management device 2 in order to make up anapplication form for new insurance contract of the auto insurance(S111). The application data entry form sent from the management deviceis displayed on the display of the terminal device 3, so as to allow thesales representative of the insurance agent or the customer to enter thenecessary information data into the application data entry formdisplayed on the screen. The application data entered into the terminaldevice are submitted to the management device 2 in sequence (S112), andthen, a new contract application form 2341 is drawn up (S113). Theseprocesses (S112)-(S113) may be repeated as circumstances demand. Theforms transmitted from the management device 2 include a vehicleinformation entry form for vehicle data such as the vehicle type, carregistry number, vehicle name, type number, and initial registrationdate of the subject vehicle, and an insurant information entry form forinsurant data such as the name, phonetic name, postal zip code,domicile, phone number, and e-mail address of the subject insurant.Further information such as recommended insurance advice andtrial-calculation result may be transmitted to the terminal deviceaccording to the data or selection entered into the terminal device 3.Information exchange between the management device 2 and terminal device3 is made while referring to the data stored on the insurance-relatedinformation database 253. When the customer asks for the estimate ofpremium but does not apply for insurance contract on this occasion,formulation of the application form for insurance contract isdiscontinued, and then, the data entered into the application form asshown in FIG. 7 displayed are stored for calculation of estimatedpremium. The trial-calculation result may be printed out or transmittedto the terminal device of the customer or insurant.

Upon completion of the application form 2541 with the application assistmeans 252 as shown in FIG. 8, the completed form is transmitted from anapplication form transmission means 271 to the terminal device 3 anddisplayed there (S114 and S115). The details of the contract policyprepared are confirmed while the sales representative give theexplanation of the contract policy to the customer, showing theapplication form on the display of the terminal device. Upon completingconfirmation of the details of the contract policy, “Confirm ImportantMatters” 25411 is selected to be transmitted to the management device 2.In response thereto, a confirming information entry form 27211 istransmitted from the confirmation assist means 2721 of the contractconclusion means 272 in the management device 2 to the terminal device 3(S116).

Then, the confirming information entry form 27211 is displayed on thedisplay of the terminal device 3 as shown in FIG. 9, so as to let thecustomer enter the customer's personal information such as thecustomer's birthday 27212. Entering of the customer's birthday 27212implies acceptance of the insurance contract by the customer after beinginformed of the details of the insurance contract. Then,“Conform/Submit” is selected to be transmitted to the management device2 (S117). Consecutively, the payment means 273 in the management device2 is worked to assist the procedure of payment (S118). In the procedureof payment, upon reception of a payment selection form sent from themanagement device 2, the customer selects any of “Cash Payment”, “CreditCard Payment”, or other payment method, the customer prefers. Uponentering the necessary item on the payment selection form, the inputdata are transmitted to the management device 2 (S119). These processes(S118)-(S119) may be repeated as circumstances demand. Through theseprocedures, the insurance contract is concluded, consequently totransmit a contract completion notification from the contract completionnotification means 274 in the management device 2 to the terminal device(S120), and display the notification sent from the management device onthe screen of the terminal device 3 (S121). The contract completionnotification is visible to the customer on the screen of the terminaldevice, so that the customer can be made aware of conclusion of theinsurance contract. Then, an accounting instruction form is transmittedfrom the accounting instruction form 291 of the management device 2 tothe terminal device (S122), and displayed on the display of the terminaldevice as shown in FIG. 10, and thereupon, by selecting “Accounting”2912 on the terminal device, it is notified to the management device 2(S123), the contents of the application form 2541 are accounted for bythe host computer 5 of the insurance company through the insuranceaccounting means 292 (S124).

This electronic accounting system prevents erroneous procedures such asreading mistake, which often occurred heretofore and eliminates the needfor preparing OCR data of the insurance contract information. Besides,no specific operation is needed for transmitting the information data,and preparation of the application form can easily be performed only bygiving an accounting command at the end of the procedures for preparingthe application form without imposing any burden on the insurance agentand the insurance company (including the branch offices thereof). Uponcompletion of the accounting procedure involving in proceeding with theinsurance contract, a completed accounting notification is transmittedfrom the completed accounting notification means 293 to the terminaldevice 3 (S125-S126). Seeing the notification on the display, the salesrepresentative of the insurance agent can make sure completion of theaccounting. Upon accounting the insurance contract, a written contractconfirmation to be submitted to the customer or insurant is made up withthe confirmation drawing means 294 of the management device 2 (S127).The written contract confirmation is formally printed out and forwardedto the customer by postal mail after 3 business days of conclusion ofthe insurance contract. The forwarding by mail of the written contractconfirmation to the customer prevents a fraudulent contract placedwithout customer's knowledge or other irregularities in a contract, thusto ensure appropriate procedures for making an insurance contract. Afterconcluding the insurance contract the customer desires, there may beemployed a follow-up service system for allowing the customer orinsurant to confirm the conditions of the insurance contract bytelephone or through a network as quick as a call center of theinsurance company receives inquiry from the customer or insurant. Thisfollow-up system can dispel anxieties about insurance operation.

Working Example 2

The working example 2 for carrying forward the procedures for acontinuing insurance contract with the management device 2 getting boththe terminal authentication information and the agent authenticationinformation will be described here. The same operation as in the newinsurance contract described above will be omitted.

Conventionally, an application form for continuing insurance contractwas heretofore forwarded by postal mail to the customer or insuranthaving the insurance policy close to the expiration, thus causing thedrop of the percentage of contract conclusion. Consequently, aninsurance solicitor of the insurance company or insurance agent oftencanvasses for renewal insurance. Thus, even accidental encounter of theinsurance agent with the customer having the insurance contract expiringsoon marks a great opportunity for getting the insurance contract. Ifthe insurance solicitor or agent does not carry an exclusive portableterminal device, which has been so far used, and/or sales papers such asinsurance guide brochures at a time like this, the insurance solicitoror agent can offer various insurance services by using his/her ownterminal device 3. For example, in proceeding with sales dealings forinsurance contract at a coffee shop with the customer, the insurancesolicitor or agent can automatically accessed to the Web site managed bythe insurance company merely by plugging a dedicated adapter to his/hercell phone via Internet.

Thus, the terminal authentication information is automaticallytransmitted to the management device 2 by plugging the dedicated adapterinto the terminal device 3 to connect the terminal device to themanagement device 2 with the dedicated adapter connection means 31(S101). Simultaneously, the terminal discriminating informationacquisition means 233 acquires the terminal authentication informationindicating that the terminal device connected to the management deviceis the cell phone, referring to the information data sent from acell-phone operator (carrier). However, since the cell phone is used inthis case, the location authentication information cannot be acquired(S201). Thus, the management device 2 determines how the terminaldiscriminating information is compensated through the informationcompensation means 231, referring to terminal discriminating database232, when transmitting the information to the terminal device 3 (S103).The subsequent processing is carried out while compensating theinformation data to be transmitted from the management device 2 to theterminal device 3 in accordance with the displaying ability of theterminal device 3. The compensation appropriate for the cell phoneserving as the terminal device is always performed every time theinformation data are transmitted to the terminal device.

Subsequently, the management device 2 transmits the agent authenticationinformation entry form to the corresponding terminal device 3 throughthe agent authentication support means 2112 (S104), and then, uponentering the ID number and password previously authenticated to thesales representative of the insurant agency, the entered data aresubmitted to the agent authentication information acquisition means 2113of the management device 2 (S105-S106). Then, the terminalauthentication information and agent authentication information areauthenticated by the authentication means 212 of the management device 2(S107). In this case, since the location authentication information isnot recognized, but the terminal authentication information and agentauthentication information are authenticated, the authentication levelis determined as Level 1 by the level determination means 2122 (S108).Consequently, the menu 2511 is transmitted to the terminal device 3through the service information means 251 (S109). On the menu 2511 asshown in FIG. 6, “Auto Insurance (renewal)” 25121 is selected andnotified to the management device 2 (S110). Thereafter, variousapplication data entry forms for preparing an application form forrenewal contract of auto insurance in the management device 2 aretransmitted from the application assist means 252 to the terminal device3 (S111). The relevant application data entry form is displayed on thedisplay of the terminal device to permit the sales representative orcustomer to enter the required information into the form in sequence, tosubmit the entered information to the management device 2 (S112) and tomake up the required renewal contract application form 2541 as shown inFIG. 8 (S113). The renewal contract application form by way of examplemay be prepared by searching the expiration information database 2533 onthe basis of the agent authentication information and transmitting alist of expiration information of the customer in the charge of thesales representative of the insurance agent to the terminal device 3.The list of expiration information on the display of the terminal device3 contains the names 25332 of the customers each having the insurancepolicy close to the expiration as shown in FIG. 12. The salesrepresentative searches within the list of expiration information 25331to retrieve the target name of the customer now in the charge of thesales representative, and then, selects “Next” 25333, so that the noticeof insurance expiration information 25334, which was already sent to thecustomer by mail or the like, is displayed on the display of theterminal device 3. On the display of the terminal device 3, three typesof recommended insurance advice for renewal contract are displayed asshown in FIG. 13. When selecting “Modified Contract” 25336 on thedisplay, other contract information is displayed instead of the contractinformation 25335. By selecting one of three types of the contractinformation upon changing the contract type and pressing“Trial-calculation” 25337, a command for trial calculation of insurancepremium is submitted to the management device 2.

In the management device 2, the insurance premium for the newlycontracted or renewal insurance is provisionally calculated referring tothe premium trial-calculation database 2532, and then, the calculatingresult 25321 of the insurance premium is transmitted from thetrial-calculation representation means to the terminal device 3. Thus,the calculating result 25321 is displayed on the display of the terminaldevice 3 as shown in FIG. 7. When the customer consents the contractconditions including the estimated insurance premium on the display ofthe terminal device, “Next” 25322 is selected to notify the customer'sconsents to the management device 2. In a case of requesting to changethe contract conditions, save the trial calculating result or suspendthe procedures, the requested form can be arbitrarily displayed. Next,the insurant information 25341 of the insurant registered beforehand inthe insurant database 2534 is retrieved from the database with theinsurant information transmission means 2327 of the management device 2.Upon confirming the insurant information 25341 thus retrieved anddisplayed on the display of the terminal device as shown in FIG. 14,“Apply” 25342 is selected to be transmitted to the management device 2.Then, an application form 2541 is made up with the application formdrafting means 254 of the management device 2 on the basis of thecontract policy selected at the terminal device 3 and the confirmedinsurant information (S113). The subsequent procedures are the same asin that for the new insurance contract as described above (S114-S127).According to the working example 2 described above, since the agentauthentication information and terminal authentication information canbe transmitted to the management device by use of the terminal deviceowned by the sales representative of the insurance agent, insurancesales operation including procedure for entering into an insurancecontract can be performed in quick response to any situation andconvenience of the customer or insurant even outside the insuranceagency office or business shop.

Working Example 3

There will be described a working example 3 for browsing the insurancerelated information without submitting the terminal authenticationinformation to the management device. In the diagrams of thisembodiment, like components are denoted by the like numerical symbols.

Even when the sales representative of the insurance agent, who does notcarry the terminal device, handheld mobile terminal or personal digitalassistant (PDA) and/or dedicated adapter, meets the customer bycoincidence and gets a chance to give an informed account to a customeroutside the business office of the insurance agent, access to themanagement device 2 becomes available by using any computer possessed bythe customer. For instance, when the sales representative of theinsurance agent meets the customer and accesses to the Web site managedby the management device 2 through Internet by using an computer of anInternet cafe, the terminal authentication information is not submittedfrom such an unauthenticated terminal device to the management device 2(S301).

In this case, the terminal authentication information as well is notsubmitted from the unauthenticated terminal device 3 to the managementdevice 2, but the terminal discriminating information acquisition means233 acquires the terminal discriminating information indicating that theterminal device 3 accessed to the management device is a commonunauthenticated personal computer, in accordance with the kind orversion of the browser installed on the unauthenticated personalcomputer (S302). The terminal discriminating information acquired by themanagement device 2 is collated with the terminal discriminatingdatabase 232, thus to determine how the information to be transmitted tothe terminal device 3 is compensated through the informationcompensation means 231 (S103). The subsequent processing is carried outwhile compensating the information data to be transmitted from themanagement device 2 to the terminal device 3 in accordance with thedisplaying ability of the terminal device 3. The compensationappropriate for the cell phone serving as the terminal device is alwaysperformed every time the information data are transmitted to theterminal device. Subsequently, the agent authentication informationentry form is transmitted from the agent authentication support means2112 of the management device 2 to the corresponding terminal device 3(S104). Then, by entering the ID code and password previously given tothe insurance agent into the terminal device, the input data aresubmitted to the agent authentication information acquisition means 2113of the management device 2 (S105-S106). Upon authenticating the agentauthentication information with the authentication means 212 of themanagement device (S107), the authentication level of the terminaldevice is determined with the level determination means 2122 (S108). Theauthentication level in this case is determined as Level 2 based onTable 1 since only the agent authentication information is acquired, butthe terminal authentication information and location authenticationinformation are not acquired. Consequently, the menu 2511 is transmittedto the terminal device 3 through the service information means 251(S109). On the menu 2511 as shown in FIG. 6, available services andunavailable services are distinguished by using different colors. In thecase shown in FIG. 6, only “Trial Calculation” 25131 and “PhoneDirectory” 25141 are displayed as selectable items. By selecting one ofthe available services displayed on the terminal device from the menu2511 (S110), the application assist means 252 is operated to assistbrowsing of the insurance-related information (S303). Thus, informationdata according to the available services are retrieved from theinsurance-related information database 253 and displayed on the terminaldevice, simultaneously to provide an instruction form to ask forentering necessary data for disclosing requested information (S304). Ifthe item “Trial Calculation” 25131 is selected as an example, a vehicleinformation entry form is transmitted to the terminal device 3, andthen, upon entering the necessary data into the form on the terminaldevice 3, the entered vehicle information is submitted to the managementdevice 2.

In response thereto, some recommended insurance advices appropriate tothe vehicle information obtained by making reference to the insurancepolicy database 2531 are given to the terminal device 3 as a recommendedinsurance information notice. On the screen of the terminal device 3,three types of recommended insurance advices are displayed as therecommended insurance information notice as the customer chooses. Thecustomer can make other choices than those displayed. By selecting anyof three types of insurance contracts or changing the insurancecontract, the management device 2 is asked for trial calculation ofinsurance premium. In response thereto, the management device 2 makesthe trial calculation of the insurance premium for newly contracted orchanged insurance the customer wishes, referring to the premiumtrial-calculation database 2532. Consequently, the trial-calculationresult 25321 as shown in FIG. 7 is transmitted from thetrial-calculation representation means to the terminal device 3 anddisplayed on the display of the terminal device 3. Although “Next” 25322was selected in the working example 1, “Next” 25322 cannot be selectedbecause of the contracting procedure of low authentication level in thisworking example 3, resulting in closing access to the insurance-relatedservice. But, it is possible to save or print out the image of thetrial-calculation result 25321 or transmit the same to the terminaldevice of the customer as circumstances demand. Thus, the insurancesalesperson or sales representative of the insurance agent can make useof any terminal device at hand to instantaneously show thetrial-calculation result of insurance premium to the customer and invitethe customer to take out new or renewal insurance, consequently toimprove the opportunity of insurance sales.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As is apparent from the foregoing description, the insurance contractsupport system of the present invention can assist various routineclerical works for proceeding with the insurance contract by previouslymemorizing a variety of insurance-related information in the managementdevice so as to transmitting the memorized information to the terminaldevice according to need. Therefore, since the insurance-relatedinformation need not be previously stored on the respective terminaldevices, the information can easily be revised and changed timely byperforming maintenance of the management device. Consequently, theinsurance agency can get relief from cumbersome processing formaintaining or renewing various data and programs as installed in adedicated terminal device of a conventional system, and therefore,devote to insurance sales as an insurance agent appointed by aninsurance company. In a case of the insurance agency conductinginsurance business on the side, the insurance agency can go about theinsurance sales operation thereof without interfering the activities ofsideline.

Furthermore, since the insurance contract support system can fitlycompensate the information data to be transmitted from the managementdevice to the terminal devices according to ability of each of theterminal devices of different types, various sets of information dataneed not be prepared previously for individual terminal devices, thatis, one set of information data suffices for various types of terminaldevices. Besides, even if the number of terminal devices to be managedby the management device, the system of the invention can cope with thiswithout imposing any burdens on the management device.

Moreover, the system of the invention compensates the information to begiven to the terminal device according to the displaying ability of theterminal device, so that the insurance-related information can beoptimally received and displayed on either of a specified terminaldevice or unspecified terminal device effectively for insurance sales.That is, even if the insurance solicitor or agent does not carry anexclusive portable terminal device, which has been so far used, and/orsales papers such as insurance guide brochures at a time like this, heor she can effectively offer various insurance services to the customerby using his/her own terminal device at any time and any place,consequently to improve the opportunity of insurance sales.

Although there is fear that confidential information of the insurancecompany may possibly be exploited from the services, which are offeredby the management device and can be available at any time and any place,high reliability and security of the system can be ensured bycomprehending the situation of the connection between the managementdevice and the terminal device and restricting the services depending onan authentication level determined according to the connectionsituation.

1. An insurance contract support system comprising a management deviceand a terminal device connected through a network, said managementdevice including: an insurance-related information database storinginsurance-related information, a terminal discriminating informationacquisition means for gaining information to discriminate said terminaldevice connected to said management device and specified or unspecifiedby said management device, and an application assist means for issuinginsurance-related information for making said management deviceavailable to said terminal device of any type in accordance withterminal discriminating information obtained by said terminaldiscriminating information acquisition means.
 2. An insurance contractsupport system comprising a management device and a terminal deviceconnected through a network, said management device including: aninsurance-related information database storing insurance-relatedinformation, a terminal discriminating information acquisition means forgaining information to discriminate said terminal device connected tosaid management device and specified or unspecified by said managementdevice, an information compensation means for compensating informationto be given to said terminal device based on said terminaldiscriminating information from said terminal discriminating informationacquisition means, and an application assist means for issuinginsurance-related information for making said management deviceavailable to said terminal device of any type in accordance withterminal discriminating information obtained by said terminaldiscriminating information acquisition means.
 3. An insurance contractsupport system comprising a management device and a terminal deviceconnected through a network, said management device including: aninsurance-related information database storing insurance-relatedinformation, a terminal discriminating information acquisition means forgaining information to discriminate said terminal device connected tosaid management device and specified or unspecified by said managementdevice, a terminal discriminating database storing said terminaldiscriminating information in correlation with displaying ability ofdescription language of said terminal device, an informationcompensation means for compensating information to be given to saidterminal device by collating said terminal discriminating informationfrom said terminal discriminating information acquisition means withsaid terminal discriminating information, and an application assistmeans for issuing insurance-related information for making saidmanagement device available to said terminal device of any type inaccordance with terminal discriminating information obtained by saidterminal discriminating information acquisition means.
 4. An insurancecontract support system comprising a management device and a terminaldevice connected through a network, said management device including: aninsurance-related information database storing insurance-relatedinformation, a terminal discriminating information acquisition means forgaining information to discriminate said terminal device connected tosaid management device and specified or unspecified by said managementdevice, an information compensation means for compensating informationto be given to said terminal device, an application assist means forissuing insurance-related information for making said management deviceavailable to said terminal device of any type in accordance withterminal discriminating information obtained by said terminaldiscriminating information acquisition means, and a contract conclusionmeans for concluding an insurance contract applied from said terminaldevice.
 5. An insurance contract support system comprising a managementdevice and a terminal device connected through a network, saidmanagement device including: an insurance-related information databasestoring insurance-related information, a terminal discriminatinginformation acquisition means for gaining information to discriminatesaid terminal device connected to said management device and specifiedor unspecified by said management device, an information compensationmeans for compensating information to be given to said terminal devicebased on said terminal discriminating information from said terminaldiscriminating information acquisition means, an application assistmeans for issuing insurance-related information for making saidmanagement device available to said terminal device of any type inaccordance with terminal discriminating information obtained by saidterminal discriminating information acquisition means, and a contractconclusion means for concluding an insurance contract applied from saidterminal device.
 6. An insurance contract support system comprising amanagement device and a terminal device connected through a network,said management device including: an insurance-related informationdatabase storing insurance-related information, a terminaldiscriminating information acquisition means for gaining information todiscriminate said terminal device connected to said management deviceand specified or unspecified by said management device, a terminaldiscriminating database storing said terminal discriminating informationin correlation with displaying ability of description language of saidterminal device, an information compensation means for compensatinginformation to be given to said terminal device by collating saidterminal discriminating information from said terminal discriminatinginformation acquisition means with said terminal discriminatinginformation, an application assist means for issuing insurance-relatedinformation for making said management device available to said terminaldevice of any type in accordance with terminal discriminatinginformation obtained by said terminal discriminating informationacquisition means, and a contract conclusion means for concluding aninsurance contract applied from said terminal device.
 7. The insurancecontract support system set forth in claim 1, wherein said managementdevice further includes a connection information acquisition means foracquiring connection information indicative of connecting conditionsbetween said management device and said terminal device, and anauthentication means for authenticating said terminal device beingaccessed to said management device based on said connection informationto determine an authentication level.
 8. The insurance contract supportsystem set forth in claim 7, wherein a sphere to assist an operationrequired for insurance contract is variable with said authenticationlevel determined by the authentication means.
 9. The insurance contractsupport system set forth in claim 7, wherein said connection informationcontain agent authentication information for distinguishing whether auser being accessed to said management device is authenticated or not.10. The insurance contract support system set forth in claim 8, whereinsaid connection information contain agent authentication information fordistinguishing whether a user being accessed to said management deviceis authenticated or not.
 11. The insurance contract support system setforth in claim 7, wherein said connection information contain terminalauthentication information for distinguishing whether said terminaldevice being accessed to said management device is authenticated or not.12. The insurance contract support system set forth in claim 8, whereinsaid connection information contain terminal authentication informationfor distinguishing whether said terminal device being accessed to saidmanagement device is authenticated or not.
 13. The insurance contractsupport system set forth in claim 9, wherein said connection informationcontain terminal authentication information for distinguishing whethersaid terminal device being accessed to said management device isauthenticated or not.
 14. The insurance contract support system setforth in claim 10, wherein said connection information contain terminalauthentication information for distinguishing whether said terminaldevice being accessed to said management device is authenticated or not.15. The insurance contract support system set forth in claim 7, whereinsaid connection information contain location authentication informationfor distinguishing whether a location from where said terminal device isaccessed to said management device is authenticated or not.
 16. Theinsurance contract support system set forth in claim 8, wherein saidconnection information contain location authentication information fordistinguishing whether a location from where said terminal device isaccessed to said management device is authenticated or not.
 17. Theinsurance contract support system set forth in claim 9, wherein saidconnection information contain location authentication information fordistinguishing whether a location from where said terminal device isaccessed to said management device is authenticated or not.
 18. Theinsurance contract support system set forth in claim 10, wherein saidconnection information contain location authentication information fordistinguishing whether a location from where said terminal device isaccessed to said management device is authenticated or not.
 19. Theinsurance contract support system set forth in claim 11, wherein saidconnection information contain location authentication information fordistinguishing whether a location from where said terminal device isaccessed to said management device is authenticated or not.
 20. Theinsurance contract support system set forth in claim 12, wherein saidconnection information contain location authentication information fordistinguishing whether a location from where said terminal device isaccessed to said management device is authenticated or not.
 21. Theinsurance contract support system set forth in claim 13, wherein saidconnection information contain location authentication information fordistinguishing whether a location from where said terminal device isaccessed to said management device is authenticated or not.
 22. Theinsurance contract support system set forth in claim 14, wherein saidconnection information contain location authentication information fordistinguishing whether a location from where said terminal device isaccessed to said management device is authenticated or not.
 23. Theinsurance contract support system set forth in claim 9, wherein saidapplication assist means is provided for assisting browsing of saidinsurance-related information with said terminal device having the agentauthentication information acquired by said connection informationacquisition means.
 24. The insurance contract support system set forthin claim 10, wherein said application assist means is provided forassisting browsing of said insurance-related information with saidterminal device having the agent authentication information acquired bysaid connection information acquisition means.
 25. The insurancecontract support system set forth in claim 11, wherein said applicationassist means is provided for assisting browsing of saidinsurance-related information with said terminal device having the agentauthentication information acquired by said connection informationacquisition means.
 26. The insurance contract support system set forthin claim 12, wherein said application assist means is provided forassisting browsing of said insurance-related information with saidterminal device having the agent authentication information acquired bysaid connection information acquisition means.
 27. The insurancecontract support system set forth in claim 13, wherein said applicationassist means is provided for assisting browsing of saidinsurance-related information with said terminal device having the agentauthentication information acquired by said connection informationacquisition means.
 28. The insurance contract support system set forthin claim 14, wherein said application assist means is provided forassisting browsing of said insurance-related information with saidterminal device having the agent authentication information acquired bysaid connection information acquisition means.
 29. The insurancecontract support system set forth in claim 15, wherein said applicationassist means is provided for assisting browsing of saidinsurance-related information with said terminal device having the agentauthentication information acquired by said connection informationacquisition means.
 30. The insurance contract support system set forthin claim 16, wherein said application assist means is provided forassisting browsing of said insurance-related information with saidterminal device having the agent authentication information acquired bysaid connection information acquisition means.
 31. The insurancecontract support system set forth in claim 25, wherein said applicationassist means assists routine clerical work of operating and concludinginsurance contract when said connection information acquisition meansacquires at least the agent authentication information and the terminalauthentication information.
 32. The insurance contract support systemset forth in claim 26, wherein said application assist means assistsroutine clerical work of operating and concluding insurance contractwhen said connection information acquisition means acquires at least theagent authentication information and the terminal authenticationinformation.
 33. The insurance contract support system set forth inclaim 29, wherein said application assist means assists routine clericalwork of operating and concluding insurance contract when said connectioninformation acquisition means acquires at least the agent authenticationinformation and the terminal authentication information.
 34. Theinsurance contract support system set forth in claim 30, wherein saidapplication assist means assists routine clerical work of operating andconcluding insurance contract when said connection informationacquisition means acquires at least the agent authentication informationand the terminal authentication information.
 35. The insurance contractsupport system set forth in claim 1, wherein said insurance-relatedinformation database contains a plurality of pieces of insurance-relatedinformation in accordance with said available terminal devices so as tosubmit a corresponding one of pieces of insurance-related information tosaid terminal device based on said terminal discriminating informationthrough said application assist means.
 36. An insurance contract supportsystem comprising a management device and a terminal device connectedthrough a network, said terminal device having a dedicated adapterconnection means for permitting a dedicated adapter to automaticallyconnect said terminal device to said management device for transmittingterminal authentication information assigned by an insurance company tosaid terminal device regardless of whether said terminal device isspecified or unspecified, and said management device including: aninsurance-related information database storing insurance-relatedinformation, and an application assist means for issuinginsurance-related information for making said management deviceavailable to said terminal device.
 37. The insurance contract supportsystem set forth in claim 2, wherein said management device furtherincludes a connection information acquisition means for acquiringconnection information indicative of connecting conditions between saidmanagement device and said terminal device, and an authentication meansfor authenticating said terminal device being accessed to saidmanagement device based on said connection information to determine anauthentication level.
 38. The insurance contract support system setforth in claim 3, wherein said management device further includes aconnection information acquisition means for acquiring connectioninformation indicative of connecting conditions between said managementdevice and said terminal device, and an authentication means forauthenticating said terminal device being accessed to said managementdevice based on said connection information to determine anauthentication level.
 39. The insurance contract support system setforth in claim 4, wherein said management device further includes aconnection information acquisition means for acquiring connectioninformation indicative of connecting conditions between said managementdevice and said terminal device, and an authentication means forauthenticating said terminal device being accessed to said managementdevice based on said connection information to determine anauthentication level.
 40. The insurance contract support system setforth in claim 5, wherein said management device further includes aconnection information acquisition means for acquiring connectioninformation indicative of connecting conditions between said managementdevice and said terminal device, and an authentication means forauthenticating said terminal device being accessed to said managementdevice based on said connection information to determine anauthentication level.
 41. The insurance contract support system setforth in claim 6, wherein said management device further includes aconnection information acquisition means for acquiring connectioninformation indicative of connecting conditions between said managementdevice and said terminal device, and an authentication means forauthenticating said terminal device being accessed to said managementdevice based on said connection information to determine anauthentication level.